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AT HIS SIDE

Name: AT HIS SIDE
Author: A.N. Pirozhkova
ISBN: 1-883642-37-X

THE LAST YEARS OF ISAAC BABEL

by A.N. Pirozhkova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1996

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A wife's evocative memoir of the vibrant and creative world of her husband and of the generation of extraordinary men and women whom Stalin destroyed. Although considered one of the masters of the Russian short story in this century (The Red Cavalry and Odessa Stories are his most famous works), Isaac Babel remains relatively uncelebrated outside of Russia. A full-scale biography does not exist. This new volume, by Babel's second (but unofficial) wife, is an intimate, heartwarming, and inspiring account of the years the two spent together in the 1930s up until Babel's arrest and murder in 193940. He clearly possessed both a unique talent and a genius for friendship. He insisted on merriment; his modus operandi was joking, and he even attempted to joke with the NKVD agent who arrested him. His kindness ``bordered on catastrophic,'' and his generosity was notorious. Although enormously well read, he disliked literary discussions and participated in them with only one man, his dear friend and mentor, Maxim Gorki. Pirozhkova also offers an intimate portrait of Babel's interactions with his intellectual compatriots, including both the well-known (Sergey Eisenstein, AndrÇ Malraux) and the obscure. The main criterion for earning Babel's admiration seems to have been giving free reign to one's imagination. Pirozhkova strings together a series of memorable portraits made even more striking by the fact that nearly everyone described was tried and murdered, like Babel himself. This English translation of the second, uncensored, Russian edition of 1989 appears with an informative, if unnecessary, introduction by Frydman. The insightful, engaging text gracefully stands on its own and would have been better served by a glossary of the many artists, intellectuals, and politicians discussed. Pirozhkova has written a moving tribute to Babel's art and his life, as well as to the agony and degrading hardships suffered by Stalin's victims and their families. (photos)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1996

ISBN: 1-883642-37-X

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Steerforth

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.